By Lee Pfeiffer

Our friend Nick Sheffo at the terrific Fulvue Drive-In web site has an interesting suggestion for MGM, now that they are providing titles for Criterion's line of special edition Blu-ray titles. As most DVD fans know, Criterion is the gold standard of special editions. Nick suggests ten specific titles that would make excellent collaborative projects between MGM and Criterion. Among them: Midnight Cowboy and The Great Escape. Speaking of the latter, one of Cinema Retro's contributors, Steve Rubin, produced a Criterion special edition laser disc on this title, complete with commentary track by director John Sturges. Sadly, when Criterion lost the rights to The Great Escape, this edition remained largely buried. It would be an excellent idea to use those materials on a new Blu-ray release of the film. For more click here

 

Although sales of traditional DVDs have been dropping steadily, the U.S. mail-order rental giant Netflix is increasing its subscriber base. Netflix has now launched a major new drive to add two million new subscribers while simultaneously cutting postage costs by tempting customers to view films on their computers via streaming. If successful, the company could greatly influence how the public views home entertainment.  For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Scorpion has released the rather obscure 1969 surfing documentary Follow Me on DVD. Clearly inspired by the similarly-themed, but highly acclaimed 1966 film The Endless Summer, this is a rather slap-dash effort that was the brainchild of director/producer Gene McCabe, whose professional credits largely began and ended with this project. The film traces the exploits of three young American surfers (Mary Lou McGinnis, Claude Codgen and Bob Purvey) as they travel the globe, ostensibly on a meager budget in order to find the most challenging waves and surfing locations. I say "ostensibly" because the average back packer doesn't travel with a film crew, which makes the frequent references to their having to scrimp ring a bit hollow. It's like those contestants on Survivor who we are supposed to believe are in danger of starving to death, even with a crew of dozens filming their every move. Nevertheless, taken in the context of its era and the fact that most people were not world travelers in 1969, Follow Me does provide all-too-brief tours of exotic locations ranging including Hong Kong, Japan, Ceylon, India, Morocco and Hawaii. However, the film's short running time (a scant 79 minutes) precludes the viewer from getting anything other than a very superficial look at the locales and cultures. Similarly, the three leads are just window dressing whose individual personalities never come through.

Sony has released an exciting new collection of Film Noir gems in association with Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation.  Here is the official press release for the set, which will be released in July. 

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPHE) and Martin Scorsese’s non-profit film preservation organization, The Film Foundation, partner once again to bring five films to DVD for the first time, fully-restored and re-mastered, in Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II, debuting on DVD July 6. This must-have collection includes Pushover (1954), Human Desire (1954), The Brothers Rico (1957), Nightfall (1957) and City of Fear (1959). In this second volume, renowned directors Fritz Lang, Phil Karlson and Irving Lerner are joined by Jacques Tourneur and Richard Quine in proving that lust, adultery, greed and revenge all add up to cold, calculated murder. Film Noir Classics II takes viewers on a dark journey among low-lifes and mobsters, cops and gun molls, and the dim-witted, hapless pawns who forever changed the landscape of cinema, and whose doomed paths are as disturbing today as when they were first committed to film. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Based on Richard Matheson's classic sci-fi novel I Am Legend, the 1971 film The Omega Man was actually the second big screen adaptation of the story. In 1964, Vincent Price starred in a low-budget Italian version titled The Last Man on Earth. In 2007, Will Smith had a blockbuster hit with I Am Legend, though that film, like the ones that preceded it, was only loosely based on the novel. Each is effective in its own way, but for pure sentiment I prefer The Omega Man, which I saw during its initial run during my high school years. The film made a major impression on me and although time has undoubtedly diminished its impact, the movie still makes some poignant observations about human nature, as well as providing Charlton Heston with one of his most memorable roles. Heston is Robert Neville, a scientist who finds himself the only person immune from the biological agents that have seemingly wiped out the rest of the human race. The best parts of this film are the early scenes in which Neville is seen trying to keep his sanity amidst the crumbling infrastructure of Los Angeles (the film is set in the "future" year of 1975).

Sam Peckinpah’s The Deadly Companions starring Maureen O’Hara and Brian Keith has never been released in Germany in any form other than being shown on television, so Retro ‘regular’ Mike Siegel, one of the world’s foremost experts on the renegade director, was more than pleased when his friend Ulrich Bruckner of Koch-media asked him to co-produce a special edition DVD for the German/Austrian market. Koch-media also specialize in rare and niche titles on DVD, with titles including The Sergio Sollima Western box set, Blindman, and special editions of certain Hammer films, to name but a few.

Siegel had just completed and co-produced the very successful German 2-disc special edition on Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs. Although Bruckner has since left Koch-media, the label owned the rights to The Deadly Companions and Siegel agreed to supply the bonus materials for this new release, for which a superb new widescreen transfer was utilized. (The same print had been used for the Japanese release DVD, which unfortunately, did not contain any bonus materials).

Siegel produced all the supplements, including a 28-minute featurette about Peckinpah’s early days; Passion & Poetry: The Early Sam, a 16-page booklet, and an extensive gallery featuring over 130 rare posters, lobby cards, stills and pressbooks. He also provided material for the artwork and recorded an audio-commentary. However, the latter is in German only, unlike the featurette, which has an English track.

This new DVD marks the only really worthwhile DVD release of Peckinpah’s debut film as a director, and fans will certainly want to add it to their collections. It is currently available from Amazon.de and various online dealers.

By Lee Pfeiffer

If you've never seen the 1966 Ivan Tors adventure film Around the World Under the Sea, you're missing a real gem. The premise finds a dedicated group of scientists on a death-defying undersea mission to plant earthquake warning devices on seabeds around the globe. The film has an eclectic cast including Lloyd Bridges, James Bond girl Shirley Eaton, Man From U.N.C.L.E. star David McCallum, Marshall Thompson of Daktari!, Brian Kelly of Flipper -with Keenan Wynn thrown in for good measure. The real star of the film is the late underwater photographer Lamar Boren, whose talents add immeasurably to the movie. The effects are still very effective by today's standards and it's a real joy to see so many charismatic stars in one movie. The film had a brief release on VHS by MGM in the 1980s but has yet to be released on DVD- c'mon guys, let's get it out there!

Click here to view original making of production short.

Sony continues to release Hammer horror and suspense classics, much to the delight of fans. Here is the official press announcement for the latest release.

CULVER CITY, CALIF. (January 20, 2010) – On April 6^th, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) opens the doors to the Hammer vault with the release of six films making their DVD debuts in The Icons of Suspense Collection Presents Hammer Films. Hammer Films made their name with monsters and vampires, but this third compilation from SPHE proves they could frighten the public without them. Topping the set is the uncut version of the futuristic classic These Are The DamnedThe Damned, 1963), directed by the legendary Joseph Loseygr. Peter Cushing and Andre Morell match wits in Cash on Demand (1961). Oscar^®-winning cinematographer Guy Green directed The Snorkel (1958), about a young girl who can’t convince anyone her stepfather is a murderer. The renowned Val Guest directed the startling psychodrama Stop Me Before I Kill! (aka The Full Treatment, 1960). Kerwin Matthews finds himself in the middle of a strange mother/daughter threesome in the Jimmy Sangster-written Maniac (1963). Plus, this ultimate rarity: Cyril Frankel’s astounding Never Take Candy from a Stranger (aka Never Take Sweets from a Stranger, 1960), a serious, and still horrifyingly timely, chiller about a small town terrorized by an elderly child molester. You won’t do better than this impeccable collection from the darkest corners of the Hammer imagination, which will be available for $24.96 SRP.

DVD Special Features Include:

· Digitally Remastered Audio and Video, Full Screen Presentation, original theatrical trailers

CLICK HERE TO ORDER DISCOUNTED FROM AMAZON

RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM CINEMA RETRO'S ARCHIVES

Movie producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein have honored their late mother by establishing a new video company in her name. The Miriam Collection, released through the Genius Products video label, will issue vintage films on DVD in special collector's editons. It wouldn't be accurate to call each of the forthcoming releases a classic, but it would be safe to say that movie fans will be over the moon about the availability of some long-desired gems that had never been released on DVD previously. The most exciting news for Cinema Retro readers is the fact that the Weinsteins have the rights to the films of producer Samuel L. Bronstron and their initial release, the 1961 epic El Cid is first rate in every conceivable way. Bronston was a man who didn't know how to think small - his appetites were big and so was his love for the film industry. He shot epic movies on relatively economical budgets by establishing a studio in Spain. By doing so, he took advantage of the dictator Franco's desire to improve his nation's discredited image by luring heavyweight Hollywood producers to do business in Spain. Bronston found not only favorable financial and climate conditions there, but Franco also gave him a literal army of unpaid extras through use of, well, the Spanish army.

Bronston planned to finanace his next film with the profits from the previous one. The idea worked well initially. El Cid, which tells the story of Spain's greatest hero - Rodrigo de Bivar, who united disparate factions of his countrymen in a common goal to defeat an invasion of Islamic religious fanatics- was a box-office and critical triumph. However, Bronston, who was a poor businessman, found his luck had run out on future productions such as 55 Days at Peking, Circus World and The Fall of the Roman Empire. Each bombed at the boxoffice and left him in staggering debt. He ultimately lost the "empire" he had built.

Coincidentally, shortly after we ran a plea for a North American DVD release of Hannie Caulder, comes word that the film will be out in July through a company called Olive. The Western boasts a great cast topped by Raquel Welch, Robert Culp, Ernest Borgnine, Strother Martin, Jack Elam and Christopher Lee. Click here to pre-order from Amazon. (Thanks to reader Ted Davis for the head's up!)

 

Warner Home Video has introduced a new service that will allow consumers to upgrade from standard DVD titles to Blu-ray editions. Under the DVD2Blu program, you can send in a copy of your standard DVD and receive the Blu-ray edition in return. There are varying fees, depending on the title you are exchanging. If you order more than $35 in exchanged DVDs, WB will pick up the postage. For more click here

 

Warner Home Video is putting the classics Ben-Hur and Citizen Kane on moratorium in preparation for major Blu-ray releases of both titles in late 2011. For more click here

 

The Warner Archive is offering a 30% off sale on burn-to-order silent movies from the Warner Brothers vault. For complete details visit the Warner Archive site by clicking here

 

By Lee Pfeiffer

It might give new meaning to the term "Coming Soon!" The porn industry is feeling the heat from all those free dirty movies that are omnipresent on the web. Consequently, revenues have declined for X-rated DVDs and downloads. However, the industry is quite adept at renewing itself with clever concepts and it looks like the latest plan may result in a temporary surge in profits. The porn company Vivid is unleashing a series of X-rated retro spoofs of legendary pop culture heroes beginning with Batman XXX. The video will be based on the classic 1960s spoof TV series that starred Adam West and Burt Ward. In the works are X-rated versions of Superman, Wonder Woman and The Hulk. Unlike low-budget porn spoofs of the past, these will have considerable production values. The teaser trailer for Batman XXX features a genuine Batmobile as well as superb graphics that recreate the credits sequence of the original show. (Click here to view- it's squeaky clean.) There are also plans in the works for an Addams Family X-rated spoof, but we draw the line at any vision of Lurch getting it on with Grandmama. Click here for more

 

The Warner Archive has released the 1971 WWI film Zeppelin as part of it's burn-to-order DVD series. Price is $19.95. The film stars Elke Sommer and Michael York. For more details, and to view the trailer, click here

The Offence, the highly acclaimed 1972 crime drama in which many critics believe Sean Connery gave the performance of his career, will finally be coming to DVD in the American market, having previously been available in Europe. The film is part of a batch of burn-to-order titles now available from MGM through Amazon. The film was directed by Sidney Lumet and features Connery as a burned-out British detective whose interrogation of a child molester/murderer leads to a shattering series of events. The grim film was virtually buried by United Artists and played only briefly in a few art houses. Click here to order and to view the trailer

By Lee Pfeiffer

I'll admit to not being very conversant regarding the films of George Romero, aside from Night of the Living Dead. With the remake of his 1973 thriller The Crazies now in theaters, I thought it would be worthwhile checking out Blue Underground's Blu-ray release of the original film. Despite the title, which insinuates this is some kind of campy monster movie, I was quite surprised the film is a highly effective suspense movie played straight-faced and without over-the-top characters or situations. The storyline finds that a top secret government experiment in biological warfare has gone astray, leaving residents of a small Pennsylvania town infected. Suddenly, many locals begin to display signs of madness that eventually culminates in their acting as raving, murderous lunatics. As the townspeople scramble to prevent themselves from being infected, they must also deal with the horrendous problem of fending off attacks from friends and loved ones who are now hunting them down to kill them. This frightening scenario clearly inspired the slicker and more polished British film 28 Days Later and its sequel 28 Weeks Later, but Romero's production is also highly effective in delivering the chills.

The ill-fated 1977 Western The White Buffalo is now available on DVD. The movie starred Charles Bronson as Wild Bill Hickok and was directed by J. Lee Thompson. The movie only saw limited release at the time and was derided for its shoddy special effects. The script presents a Western version of Moby Dick or Jaws with Hickok obsessed with hunting down a giant, legendary white bison. Over the decades, however, the movie has built a strong cult following. The cast includes such impressive actors as Will Sampson, Stuart Whitman, Slim Pickens, Clint Walker, Jack Warden and Kim Novak. The DVD is available on Amazon's burn-to-order program. Click here to view trailer and to order. 

E1 Entertainment has released The Abbott and Costello Show: The Complete Series, remastered in a 9 DVD boxed set. The set boasts three hours of bonus materials. To order from Amazon click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Fans of mercenary-themed action films like The Wild Geese, Dark of the Sun and The Dogs of War will be happy to know that the 1969 action adventure The Last Grenade has been released by Scorpion on DVD. Best of all, like most titles from this company, it is a Region 0 DVD, meaning it can be played on any system in the world. The film stars Stanley Baker as a tough-as-nails mercenary leader who we first see with a large contingent of his men as they await rescue in Africa after successfully completing a mission. When the rescue helicopter arrives, however, the men are largely mowed down by Baker's partner, played by Alex Cord. The double-cross is the centerpiece of the story, as Baker and his small band of surviving men plot to have their revenge. The opportunity comes when they are summoned by a British General (Richard Attenborough) to Hong Kong. Here, they are informed that Cord has allied himself with Communist terrorists who are trying to undermine British control of the territory. Because they hide on bases in mainland China, the British government can't officially pursue them, thus it's a job for mercenaries.

Don't count Robert Redford among the directors and actors who are enthralled by the plethora of extras on DVD releases. The Oscar winner says that knowing too much about the making of a film robs the audience of the magic of the movies. He tells USA Today, "Films were meant to be a kind of magic that transports you somewhere else because you can imagine on your own and not have everything spelled out about this trick and this explosion. I would be just fine with none of that." Redford is happy about Blu-ray technology and is pleased that the release of The Natural will allow viewers to experience the film through state-of-the-art technology - it's just those extras that fail to win him over.

Click here to read more

As writer John Latchem reports, the recent death of actor Robert Culp has spurred DVD companies to commemorate his legacy. Image Entertainment issued a press release touting the fact that Culp's iconic 1960s series I Spy is presently available on DVD. Now Mill Creek will re-release the 1970s series The Greatest American Hero in which Culp co-starred with William Katt. For more click here

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Sony:

SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT DEBUTS

11 CLASSIC TITLES STARRING

MEXICAN COMEDY LEGEND CANTINFLAS

 The Collection Includes Seven Films Making Their DVD Debuts:

A Volar Joven ~ El Circo ~ El Gendarme Desconocido ~ El Mago

El Senor Fotografo ~ Los Tres Mosqueteros ~ Si Yo Fuera Diputado

Plus Four of Cantinflas’ Biggest Hits:

El Bolero de Raquel ~ El Analfabeto ~ El Padrecito ~ Su Excelencia 

Each Slapstick Classic will be Available Separately on DVD May 11

BAD GIRLS OF FILM NOIR

VOLUME 1 & VOLUME 2 

Volume 1 Includes: The Killer That Stalked New York,

Two of a Kind, Bad for Each Other, and The Glass Wall

with Special Introduction by Terry Moore 

Volume 2 Includes: Night Editor, One Girl’s Confession,

Women’s Prison, and Over-Exposed  

Eight Classic Film Noirs Available for the First Time on DVD

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

‘Sutherland’s performance is the most astonishing piece of screen acting since Brando’s Last Tango In Paris’ Time Out

Mr. Bongo Films is delighted to announce the release of Italian cinematic maestro Federico Fellini’s Casanova starring screen stalwart Donald Sutherland as the legendary lothario. Based on the memories of Casanova, Fellini offers his version using rare visual daring and imagination.

Casanova is one of Fellini’s most spectacular productions and comes to DVD on 17 May 2010 courtesy of Mr Bongo Films.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Among the plethora of WWII dramas set in POW camps, Bryan Forbes' 1965 film King Rat is among the grimmest. The problem with many of these films, including the classic The Great Escape, is that the conditions depicted in the prison camp are benign enough that one wonders why anyone risks their life to escape. Not so with King Rat, which afforded George Segal one of his first and most important roles as a leading man. Segal is Corporal King, a low-ranking soldier who has managed to manipulate his way to being the de facto top-ranking officer among Allied prisoners in a Japanese POW camp. Through cunning, conning and cheating, King has established himself as the indispensable man: someone who can get decent food, medicine and other life-saving commodities for a price. Consequently, his superior officers not only defer to him but patronize him as well, hoping to get special goods and favors. King's relative riches afford him a lifestyle that is resented by many. His uniform is pristine, his hair neatly combed and he barely breaks a sweat even in the midst of the tropical hellhole he resides in. He also has a band of slavishly loyal minions who do his bidding, including superior officers.

Warner Home Video has released John Wayne's The Green Berets on Blu-ray. Wayne stirred up a hornet's nest among his political opponents when he released the film in 1968 at the height of the protest movement against the Vietnam War. After his 1966 visit to Vietnam to bolster the spirits of American troops, the Duke wanted to make a statement in support of the U.S. involvement in the war. He felt so strongly about the subject that he directed the movie as well as starred in it. (Ray Kellogg directed most of the major action scenes.)

The film remains one of only two films the Duke directed, the other being his 1960 epic The Alamo. Predictably, the movie caused a firestorm of protest, as it was released just when calls for withdrawing from the conflict were picking up steam. Most critics wrote the film off as hopelessly inept from an artistic standpoint. Indeed, Wayne employed every cliche imaginable and the script seemed to have been left on a shelf since the WWII era. There is the lovable company scrounger (Jim Hutton) who unofficially adopts a doe-eyed orphan kid and other key characters are actually named Kowalski and Muldoon.Wayne does address the political controversies of the era, but the opposing viewpoint of the war is seen through diatribes of another cliched character, a liberal reporter played by David Janssen. Wayne's simplistic outlook on the conflict is represented by his answer to Janssen's complaint that due process of law is not being followed. Wayne's Colonel Kirby tells him, "Out here, due process is a bullet."

By Lee Pfeiffer

Among the gems recently released by Paramount as part of the studio's Centennial special editions DVDs is John Ford's 1962 classic The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.Count me among those who consider the film a masterpiece, but upon its initial release, the movie was dismissed as morose and claustrophobic by short-sighted critics who couldn't see beyond Ford's penchant for filming in the great outdoors. The plot finds James Stewart as Ransom Stoddard, a tenderfoot lawyer who goes west in the naive belief the populace will welcome his offer to bring civility and legal representation to the residents of a small town. Before he even gets to his destination, his stagecoach is robbed by the vicious bandit Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), who takes special delight in beating and humiliating the lawyer. Stoddard is nursed back to health by sympathetic townspeople, primarily Hallie (Vera Miles) and her cynical, macho boyfriend Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). Tom sizes up Stoddard's abilities to fend for himself and advises him to leave town immediately. However, Stoddard is determined to bring the rule of law to the town and stubbornly stays on - until Valance challenges him to a gun duel from which only one man will emerge alive.

By Lee Pfeiffer

The cover art for the Blu-ray release of the 1981 Italian thriller The New York Ripper screams "The most controversial horror film ever made!" Although the hyperbole may be true, I'll confess that I had never even heard of the movie until viewing the screener copy from Blue Underground. Apparently, the film does have a long history of being censored and the original version is still banned in the UK. Research shows there have been numerous international versions of film, many of which have been compromised by edits ranging from minor to the exclusion of entire key sequences. Blue Underground's release is the complete 93 minute version of director Lucio Fulci's vision of the film.As you might imagine, the movie isn't for everyone. A strong stomach and penchant for kinky sex scenes might well be advised.

The film was shot on location in New York City (with interiors shot in Rome) in 1981. The Big Apple was in the midst of its decline during this period and movie makers exploited the public misery to the fullest extent. Big studio releases like Taxi Driver and Death Wish were seen as legitimate social commentaries, while other smaller budget movies just seemed to exploit the explosion in crime. Viewing The New York Ripper today, one has to force oneself to remember those bad old days in Gotham. With the city now having undergone an amazing renaissance that has resulted in the lowest crime statistics on record, it might be difficult for those who did not grow up in or near the city to recall how accurately films reflected this era. Fulci's film centers on a psychopath who menaces New York by murdering numerous women in the most horrendous manners. Bizarrely, he uses the voice of Donald Duck in taunting phone calls to the police. Nominally, the film would seem to be based on a modern version of London's Jack the Ripper, but more likely Fulci was inspired by the Son of Sam murders that gripped the city in the summer of 1977.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Scorpion Releasing has made possible the DVD debut of the 1973 cult horror film Doctor Death, Seeker of Souls. The special edition release is top-notch in all respects. The movie was the brainchild of Eddie Saeta, a lifelong member of the movie community who started out as Harry Cohn's messenger boy and later became a well-respected assistant director. (He worked on a number of the Three Stooges shorts at Columbia and several Man From U.N.C.L.E. episodes that were turned into feature films.) Doctor Death was a rare opportunity for Saeta to fulfill his dream of directing a feature film. The low-budget horror opus was shot in 12 days - a remarkable achievement, given the film's ambitious special effects and varying sets and locations. The movie is played primarily for laughs, with John Considine cast as the titular villain, a charismatic practitioner of black magic who has secured the secret to eternal life. When the present body he inhabits is on the verge of death, he is able to transfer his soul into a recently-deceased person. The fly-in-the-ointment is that, if a suitable cadaver is not available, the good doctor secures one through murder. In contemporary times, he turns his art into a for-profit venture by charging distraught people huge sums to bring their loved ones back from the grave by transposing their souls into another body. The script follows one such grieving victim, Fred Saunders (Barry Coe), who cannot accept the fact that his beautiful young wife Laura (Jo Morrow) has died from an illness. He hires Doctor Death to bring her soul back to life - and it doesn't ruin any plot device to inform the reader that certain unexpected complications occur.

By Lee Pfeiffer

A number of readers have written to publicly request that Universal release The Nude Bomb on DVD. It will therefore come as a shock to those readers to discover that the film has been out on DVD for quite some time. Universal wisely released it to coincide with with the 2008 premiere of the Get Smart feature film starring Steve Carrell. Fans could be forgiven for not noticing, as Universal used scant resources to make the film's availability known. There is good reason for this: the 1980 big screen Get Smart feature film disappoints on all levels. The hit TV series ran from 1965 to 1970, with CBS having picked it up after NBC canceled the show. A decade later, Universal brought Don Adams to the big screen in a full length motion picture. At first glance, The Nude Bomb seemed promising: writers Bill Dana, Arne Sultan and Leonard B. Sultan were brought on board from the original series. However, Barbara Feldon, who played "99" chose not to appear and Edward Platt, who had the pivotal role of Chief had passed away years before. Thus, the scenario Adams found himself in was comparable to a Three Stooges reunion minus Larry and Moe.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Warner Home Video:

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Burbank, Calif., March 15, 2010 – Warner Home Video (WHV) today announced that it is bringing back “the shack” on June 8 on Blu-ray Disc^TM. Just in time for Father’s Day, tour the grounds of the exclusive Bushwood Country Club like never before, as the screen’s most notorious gopher chews its way onto stunning Blu-ray for the first time ever.

30 years ago, the game of golf was redefined when Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray and Ted Knight took to the fairways of Bushwood Country Club. When Caddyshack hits Blu-ray, fans will see the riotous hole-in-one comedy like never before. The fairways will be greener. The golf balls whiter. The gopher…err…fuzzier. The Blu-ray will contain an all new, feature-length Bio documentary, Caddyshack: The Inside Story (90 min), which includes new interviews with producers and stars about the making of Caddyshack. The Blu-ray will also include all of the special features from the original standard definition version: Caddyshack: The 19^th Hole (37 min), a retrospective documentary featuring hilarious outtakes, rare footage and interviews with stars Chevy Chase and Cindy Morgan, producers Jon Peters and Mark Canton, and director Harold Ramis, along with other cast and creative team members recalling their on-set experiences; and the theatrical trailer.

The standard definition DVD has been updated with new 5.1 audio and contains special features: Caddyshack: The 19^th Hole and the theatrical trailer. The film will also be available day and date on Video on Demand from cable and satellite providers and for electronic download from online retailers. 

 

Among AFI’s Top 100 for “Funniest and Best Quotes” and Top 10 for “Best Sports Movies,” the inspiration for the madcap milieu of Caddyshack is the boyhood experiences of writer Brian Doyle-Murray and his kid brother Bill Murray. Brian was a caddy at Indian Hills, outside Chicago, and Bill was an assistant groundskeeper for the Evanston Country Club in Indiana.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

With two of the finest British actresses of this or any other generation in the main roles and a cast of instantly recognisable homegrown talent, Mary Queen Of Scots is a long lost classic costume drama on an epic scale.

Mystifyingly unavailable since its original theatrical release almost 40 years ago, it is at last set to make its DVD courtesy of Second Sight on 1 February 2010.

Nominated for five Oscars this outstanding costume drama stars two of the greatest British actresses; Vanessa Redgrave (Julia) in the title role and Glenda Jackson (Woman In Love) as Queen Elizabeth I, along with a stellar cast including Ian Holm, Trevor Howard, Patrick McGoohan and Timothy Dalton. It also boasts a score by John Barry. 

Originally released in 1971, this lavish Tudor power play tells the story of Queen Mary, the last Catholic ruler of Scotland who faces religious prejudice, from the Protestant community and, in particular, her half-brother James Stuart (McGoohan) leader of the Protestant faction. Throughout her reign she is faced with a fierce adversary, her cousin the Queen of England Elizabeth I. 

Mary Queen Of Scots is a passionate and energetic costume drama with an outstanding cast that makes for powerful viewing.

Bonus features include: Isolated John Barry music track with commentary by film historians Nick Redman and Jon Burlingame, Overture and intermission music, Promotional featurette

Includes subtitles for hard of hearing

(Click here to order from Amazon UK) 

‘Two of Britain's finest actresses shine in tailor-made roles’

Radio Times

By Lee Pfeiffer

Like most classic movie fans, I have have viewed The African Queen countless times. However, I had never truly seen The African Queen until I attended a special digital screening of the restored version. Cinema Retro was among a select number of publications to be invited by Paramount for the unveiling of the restored version of director John Huston's classic adventure. The screening took place at Viacom headquarters in Times Square (Viacom is the parent company of Paramount). Following a reception attended by Ron Smith, the man who headed up the restoration process, we were escorted into the screening room where a new documentary was shown detailing the painstaking efforts to preserve the film. When the movie itself was shown in digital format, the result was literally breathtaking. The film looks better than Huston could have ever hoped for.

By Todd Garbarini

There are films that look reminiscent of a particular time period, and films that look as though they were actually shot in the time period in which they are set.  Bernardo Bertolucci’s  The Conformist (1970; available on DVD from Paramount Home Video) takes place in the 1930’s and early 1940’s, yet cinematographer Vittorio Storaro managed to make this film look as though it could have been filmed during these respective decades.  Likewise, Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven, filmed in 1976 and released in 1978, takes place circa 1916 and the resulting imagery is like stepping back in time. 

Bill, played by a 27 year-old Richard Gere, is a day laborer in a Chicago steel mill (filmed in Los Angeles) who has an argument with one of the bosses and inadvertently kills him, causing him to flee to the wheat fields of the Texas Panhandle (Alberta, Canada doubling as Texas) with his out-of-wedlock lover Abby (Brooke Adams) and his younger sister Linda (Linda Manz).  With Linda’s help, Bill and Abby present themselves as brother and sister and are hired as seasonal workers on a farm owned by a wealthy farmer (playwright Sam Shepard) who is ill and who may or may not live much longer.  Since Bill has been poor his whole life and has never known an existence that was not arduous, he encourages Abby to respond to the farmer’s affections and marry him in the hopes of inheriting his farm and money when he dies.  Abby agrees, and initially the plan works as Bill, Abby and Linda enjoy life as they have never known it, experiencing the film’s title by relaxing and playing games, and living a life free of toil, worry and physical labor.  At some point, however, their masquerade becomes apparent and things take a turn for the worse when several tragedies transpire and their lives are forever altered.   

By Lee Pfeiffer

A truly under-appreciated and little-seen gem, Power Play has recently been released on DVD through the Scorpion label. Like other niche market titles that have been surfacing in droves, this one has so much to recommend about it that it seems almost criminal so few movie fans have seen the movie. The 1978 thriller takes place in an unnamed central European country where the repressive government is employing increasingly harsh crackdowns on the general population and utilizing torture against dissidents. Fearing the breakout of civil war, Dr. Jean Rousseau (Barry Morse), an intellectual with ties to the military, persuades key army officers to plan a coup. They are led by Col. Anthony Narriman (David Hemmings, who co-produced the film), a rather pacifist soldier who reluctantly agrees to head the plot in order to save the nation he loves. The tight-knit group carefully approaches other officers they suspect may be in sympathy. Among them is a wild card: tank commander Colonel Zeller (Peter O'Toole), a flamboyant and egotistical man whose forces are essential to the operation.As the plotting proceeds, the story becomes quite suspenseful as the group deals with an almost paranoid obsession that their activities are being uncovered by Blair (Donald Pleasence), a murderous government bureaucrat who will stop at nothing to preserve the status quo.

Warner Brothers informs us they are to release a number of Clint Eastwood features on Blu-ray in June. Among them will be double feature discs that sell for $30 each. The double features will include Where Eagles Dare/Kelly's Heroes; Dirty Harry/Magnum Force and The Enforcer/Sudden Impact. Great news, to be sure, but we hope they at least issue a single disc Blu-ray release of The Dead Pool so the entire Dirty Harry series will be available in that format. Stay tuned for further news.

By Todd Garbarini

 

It has been said that if you want action films, look no further than Asian and American cinema; and no one makes a mystery or a satire like the British.  The same can be said about the French when it comes to love stories, and while our Seine-strutting amis can also whip up slapstick comedies like few can (think Louis De Funes donning a beard, black hat, and impersonating a rabbi), they rarely fail to deliver captivating examples of both of these beloved genres. 

Patrice Leconte, best known to American audiences for Monsieur Hire (1989) and The Hairdresser’s Husband (1990), gives us The Perfume of Yvonne (1994), now available on DVD from Severin Films.  Based on the 1975 novel Villa Triste by Patrick Modiano, the film introduces us to Victor Chmara (Hippolyte Girardot of Manon of the Spring among many others), who is recalling the events that transpired in his life during the summer of 1958 in Geneva.  Casually avoiding taking up the cause in the Algerian War, he stops in his tracks while sitting in the lobby of his hotel when his eye catches Yvonne (former model Sandra Majani) for the first time.  She is an actress and a vision to behold.  Her under-confident manner is exuded by her slight lack of poise while sitting with her enormous dog, Oswald.  She is also accompanied by her friend Dr. Rene Meinthe, played with exuberance and flamboyance by Jean-Pierre Marielle whom audiences will recall as Gianni Arrosio in Dario Argento’s Four Flies on Grey Velvet.  After much conversation Yvonne and Victor enter into a relationship that quickly becomes sexual in nature.  Leconte’s camera makes the ever so slight caress of Yvonne’s knee (a nice nod to Eric Rohmer), her back, her breast, or bare bottom intensely erotic.  Underneath it all, Yvonne possesses an air of innocent hesitation, which I cannot discern to be attributed to Majani’s lack of experience as an actress, or if it is her interpretation of Yvonne.   Majani she also appeared in Alberto Express (1990), Cold Moon (1991), and Leconte’s Tango (1993) under the name of Sandra Extercatte, so Yvonne is not her first film. 

As time goes by, Victor somehow appears to feel that he is a stranger in Yvonne’s land, and suddenly suggests that they get married and move to America.  This is a move that puzzles Yvonne, and Rene reminds Victor to keep an eye on her.  The ending is intimated at from the very beginning, and when we are faced with it, we nod our heads in understanding. 

Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman appeared at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for the launch of Warner Brothers 35 DVD tribute collection to Eastwood. They were also there to commemorate Richard Schickel's new documentary The Eastwood Factor which is featured in the set and which Freeman narrates. Eastwood was philosophical about  Invictus not getting a best picture or director Oscar nod, saying, "Look, I've been around a long time and probably they should give somebody else a look. I don't think too much about that stuff. I didn't think about it then, I just got lucky with those two. (Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby)". Eastwood also confirms he's out of touch with his earlier films and has to reacquaint himself with them. For more click here

By Todd Garbarini

Since its inception in 2006, Severin Films, the film and DVD company that is responsible for releasing special editions of many well-known films such as Roman Polanski’s What?, Gwendolin with Tawny Kitaen, Patrice Leconte’s  The Hairdresser’s Husband and The Perfume Of Yvonne, Richard Stanley’s Hardware, and Enzo Castellari’s Inglorious Bastards to name a few, now adds Lucio Fulci’s directorial swan song to its roster.  Fulci, who passed away in 1996, made Door into Silence (Le Porte del Silenzio) in 1991 (not to be confused with Dario Argento’s Door into Darkness, a series of four, one-hour episodes for Italian television in 1973).  It stars - of all people - John Savage of The Deer Hunter and Do the Right Thing as a man who buries his father and takes a strange trip through Louisiana behind a hearse in a modern day variation of Steven Spielberg’s Duel, minus the suspense.  

I’ve never been a card-carrying member of the Fucli cognoscenti, although Zombi (1979) and The House by the Cemetery (1981) are personal Fulci favorites.  And how can you go wrong with The New York Ripper (1982), about a killer who quacks like a duck before he strikes?  Argento and Mario Bava are closer to my tastes as I find their films to be intensely cinematic, sporting vertiginous camerawork and labyrinthine plots.  Fulci’s work can sometimes come across as television movie-of-the-weekish, and Door into Silence is no exception.  Distributed by our friends at Filmirage, a company that was responsible for Fabrizio Laurentis’ La Casa 4 (1988) with (yikes!) David Hasselholf and Linda Blair, and Aristide Massaccesi’s Anthropophagus (1980) with reliable Tisa Farrow, Door into Silence seems culled from better material, among them Rod Serling’s “The Hitchhiker” episode of The Twilight Zone (which itself was adapted from Lucille Fletcher’s story of the same name), and from Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” which has provided the basis for innumerable supernatural stories.

Universal is following in the footsteps of Warner Brothers by making well-known film titles available on a burn-to-order basis. The Universal titles are now available on Amazon and can be ordered through searching on the database, as you would for any other title. Each disc is recorded on DVD-R format. Here is the initial press release:

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Jan. 20, 2010 – CreateSpace, part of the Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) group of companies, today announced an agreement with Universal Studios Home Entertainment to release a special selection of Universal's rare films, spanning six decades. Titles from the all-new "Universal Vault Series" will be available on Amazon.com through CreateSpace's DVD on-Demand technology. Spanning a variety of genres and decades, many of the films will now be available for the first time on DVD.

Digitally remastered and exclusively available using CreateSpace's DVD on-Demand platform, Universal Studios Home Entertainment will give fans first-time DVD access to some of its most highly sought-after films, such as "A Bronx Tale," the 1993 film directed by and starring Robert De Niro. Other titles in the series will include cult favorite "The Incredible Shrinking Woman," starring Lily Tomlin; "Gambit," the three-time Academy Award®-nominated film starring Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine; "The Black Shield of Falworth," Universal's first feature film using CinemaScope technology; "The Brass Bottle," starring Barbara Eden and the film inspiration for the hit television show "I Dream of Jeannie"; and "Resurrection," starring Ellen Burstyn as a modern-day miracle worker.

DVD on-Demand enables major film studios like Universal Pictures to release rare and unique content in response to consumer demand. With DVD on-Demand, DVDs are manufactured only after a customer places an order, making it a cost-effective solution that doesn't require studios to estimate market demand or make costly investments in physical inventory.

"CreateSpace's model allows movie studios and content owners to restore and release oft-requested titles quickly, easily and economically," said Dana LoPiccolo-Giles, managing director, CreateSpace. "With CreateSpace's DVD on-Demand platform, Universal Pictures can ensure its fans have the opportunity to collect and view their favorite films from the past with DVD quality."

Other titles in the "Universal Vault Series" to be made available through CreateSpace DVD on-Demand include:

• "40 Pounds of Trouble" (1962), starring Tony Curtis
• "Blue Collar" (1978), starring Richard Pryor and Harvey Keitel
• "The Chalk Garden" (1964), starring Deborah Kerr and Hayley Mills
• "Death Takes a Holiday" (1934), starring Frederic March
• "Dragnet" (1954), starring Jack Webb
• "Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain" (1995), starring Christina Ricci and Anna Chlumsky
• "A Good Man in Africa" (1994), starring Sean Connery
• "The House of Seven Gables" (1940), starring George Sanders and Vincent Price
• "Kitten with a Whip" (1964), starring Ann-Margret and John Forsythe
• "The Last Remake of Beau Geste" (1977), starring Marty Feldman
• "The List of Adrian Messenger" (1963), starring George C. Scott, Kirk Douglas and Frank Sinatra
• "The Perfect Furlough" (1958), starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh
• "Pure Luck" (1991), starring Martin Short and Danny Glover
• "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1933), starring Charles Laughton
• "Shoot Out" (1971), starring Gregory Peck
• "Shout" (1991), starring John Travolta
• "Spawn of the North" (1938), starring Henry Fonda, George Raft and Dorothy Lamour
• "Stick" (1985), starring Burt Reynolds
• "Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here" (1970), starring Robert Redford
• CLICK HERE TO GO TO AMAZON AND ORDER YOUR TITLES!

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from The British Film Institute:

 

Based entirely on interviews with the participants and their friends, the film follows this group of exiles – transplants from Southwest reservations – as they flirt, drink, party, fight, and dance. With its vivid, high-contrast black and white photography and soundtrack by The Revels, Kent Mackenzie’s gritty, no-frills depiction of this marginalised Los Angeles community draws comparisons to John Cassavetes, Charles Burnett and Vittorio De Seta.

 

Finally made available on DVD in the UK for the first time, it’s packed with extras including a feature commentary and short films.

Click here to order from Amazon UK

By Lee Pfeiffer

Blue Underground, which specializes in first class DVD editions of cult films, has released Circle of Iron (aka The Silent Flute) on Blu-ray. The 1978 martial arts movie was based on a story devised by Bruce Lee, James Coburn and Sterling Silliphant. Lee couldn't find studio interest in the metaphysical film that was designed to combine the spiritual qualities of Taoist philosophy with martial arts fight sequences. The movie languished for years until Silliphant was able to get a production deal. However, by then, Lee was a major film star and he turned his back on having anything to do with the movie. After Lee's death, studios were eager to capitalize on anything to do with his legend. Thus, the movie was heavily promoted as being a tribute to Lee, though the final result is probably light years away from what he envisioned. The movie is bizarre on many levels, yet is consistently entertaining and has a goofy and charming aspect to it.The plot takes place in a mythical land where Cord (Jeff Cooper), a top martial arts fighter is determined to take on the seemingly impossible quest to locate a mysterious figure named Zetan, who jealously guards a legendary book that supposedly contains the meaning of life. Cord must first accomplish numerous dangerous tasks along the way, if he hopes to actually meet Zetan. (Imagine The Wizard of Oz with kung fu fights).

By Lee Pfeiffer

Paramount has recently released two major John Wayne titles as two DVD special editions. The releases were tied in with the studio's Centennial line of classics. In fact, El Dorado probably doesn't qualify as a classic, as it represents Howard Hawks' virtual remake of his 1959 film Rio Bravo (which is a genuine classic.) Regarded as a good, run-of-the-mill Western when released in 1967, the film has grown in stature as film scholars grapple with the notion that there simply aren't artists around today as interesting as Wayne, Hawks and Robert Mitchum, the other lead. The film showcases a fine supporting cast including James Caan in one of his first major roles, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey, Ed Asner and old reliable character actors Paul Fix and Arthur Hunnicutt playing a role that seems tailor-made for Walter Brennan. The plot is virtually identical to that of the previous film: a disparate group of heroes finds themselves holding an important prisoner and fending off a virtual army of gunslingers intent on freeing him. If Hawks was unapologetic about shamelessly plagiarizing another film, at least he was stealing from himself. (He would do yet another loose remake of the same story with Rio Lobo in 1970). Still, warmed-over Hawks is better than almost anything being made today, and El Dorado is a joy to watch. The banter between Wayne and Mitchum is terrific, the script has some genuinely funny moments and the action sequences are excellently staged.

Paramount's 2 DVD edition contains a wealth of great extras including:

• audio commentary tracks by Peter Bogdanovich, Richard Schickel, Ed Asner and Todd McCarthy
• seven short featurettes each pertaining to a different aspect of the film's production
• an interview with Paramount head honcho A.C. Lyles, who ran the studio when the movie was made
• a vintage production short that showcases Western art sculptor Olaf Wieghorst, who plays a small, amusing role in the film
• the original trailer and lobby card and production stills gallery

(Read an exclusive interview with James Caan about the making of the film in Cinema Retro issue #14)

Click here to order from Amazon

By Lee Pfeiffer

Filmmaker Kevin Epps has shed new light on the legends behind the legendary Alcatraz prison. Movie audiences have been weened on the notion that being confined to The Rock was largely an experience relegated to white prisoners. In fact, over the decades Alcatraz 'hosted' a sizable population of black prisoners as well. Hollywood generally, well, whitewashed those prisoner's experiences during the heyday of crime movies because of segregationist attitudes in American society. Clint Eastwood's 1979 film Escape From Alcatraz set the record straight in a minor way: at least it depicted some black characters.Epps, a San Francisco documentary maker, explores the black experience on Alcatraz in The Black Rock. Working with a very limited budget, Epps, creatively uses rare still photos combined with first-hand interviews with black former inmates and guards. The result is a fascinating and thoroughly engrossing film that educates as much as it entertains. Although most people believe segregation was largely relegated to the deep south, the film proves that the horrible practice was alive and well inside the walls of Alcatraz. Black prisoners were segregated from whites, using the old-standby excuse that it was done for their own protection. (It's amazing how racist policies are always justified by the people who create them on the basis that they are actually for the benefit of those who are victimized by them.)

By Lee PFeiffer

Some of the best DVD releases are coming from niche market companies that lack the financial resources to give them extensive marketing. Companies like Severin Films, Blue Underground and Scorpion Releasing have put a good amount of resources into releasing outstanding DVD editions of titles many readers may not even know are available. Thus, Cinema Retro will try to increase our coverage of these worthy titles and companies in the weeks and months to come. First up is Scorpion Releasing's deluxe edition of The Internecine Project, a 1974 London-based thriller directed by Ken Hughes and starring James Coburn in a bravura performance as a charismatic villain. Coburn plays an internationally respected economics expert who finds himself being tapped to be an adviser to the President of the United States. However, he must first ensure that his sordid sideline of running a small London crime ring is swept under the rug. To do so, he devises a complex scheme to convince each member of his team to murder another. The film, written by Barry Levinson and Jonathan Lynn, bristles with tension and leads to a wonderful and satisfying conclusion. Aside from Coburn's outstanding performance, you can relish yeoman work from Lee Grant, Harry Andrews and Ian Hendry- all set to Roy Budd's atmospheric score.

Scorpion has produced an excellent special DVD edition that includes a fascinating chat with screenwriter Jonathan Lynn, who would go on to be best known for writing famous British comedy TV series. On most special editions produced by major studios, the interviews are chopped into brief soundbites. Refreshingly, Scorpion allows Lynn to talk for almost 30 minutes- and he goes beyond discussing The Internecine Project to detailing working with John Landis on Clue. There are also some brief comments by Lee Grant and a very nice audio review of the film by Lisa Coburn, daughter of James Coburn, who provides interesting insights into her father's personal life. He worked so much that he had few long-time friends, with the exception of Robert Vaughn, Steve McQueen and Bruce Lee. She tells a wonderful anecdote about watching Lee and her dad perform martial arts together when she was a young girl. The DVD also contains the original trailer as well as a gallery of other trailers from Scorpion Releasing. Put this shamefully neglected film on your "must watch" list.

Click here to order from Amazon (This title will ship on February 23)

It seems our mention of TCM"s broadcast of 55 Days at Peking has unleashed a lot of pent up enthusiasm about the film among readers. Here is a subscriber from the UK's update on what the alternatives are for those who are seeking the film on DVD:

And you’re right to say the latest Miriam DVDs of El Cid and Roman Empire are excellent – but dear oh dear ! Why did they put the Intermission Music on the end of the first disc ? They clearly didn’t understand how these movies were shown. The intermission music is the Overture to the second half, not the playout to the first. Which makes it impossible to play the Intermission music, dim the lights and open the curtains (assuming you have them, which of course I do !) and go straight into the movie. Grrr !!!

 Sadly none of the above area as good as the LD versions (which I also have, of course).

Dick Budgen (UK)

On January 25th Heroes: The Greatest War Movies Ever is being released on DVD by Revolver Entertainment. Region 2 only, this DVD costs £9.99., with every penny of the profit (approx £7.50) going to the charity Help the Heroes, which supports wounded British servicemen and women returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. The one-hour film is a collection of clips from famous wartime films made over the last sixty years, including Saving Private Ryan, Ice Cold in Alex, The Guns of Navarone, Platoon, Bridge on the River Kwai, Schindler's List, Dr Strangelove, The Hurt Locker, and many more. It will be available in most UK stores and major online stockists such as Play.Com and Amazon UK.

Rod Steiger as Marty? Jack Palance in Requiem for a Heavyweight? Paul Newman in Bang the Drum Slowly. Cliff Robertson in Days of Wine and Roses? If you've only seen the big screen versions of these classic stories, you've seen other actors in the leading roles. However, they had their origins as live TV productions in the 1950s with the aforementioned cast members. Now Criterion is presenting these and other live TV broadcasts in a remarkable boxed DVD set that proves why the 50s was indeed the Golden Age of TV. The set is loaded with interviews with the people who created these classics. Click here for more

Click here to order from Amazon.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Another Jack Lemmon DVD collection has been released, this time by Fox and featuring four of the legendary actor's films originally released theatrically by United Artists. Each of the titles in the set have been previously released individually, but it's nice having them all in one convenient slipcase.  The films included (three of which are directed by Billy Wilder)  are:

• Some Like It Hot (1959) - The classic comedy never wears out its welcome even after repeated viewings. Lemmon and Tony Curtis are failed jazz musicians who accidentally witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. They flee to Florida with an all-girl band, a feat they accomplish by dressing in drag. Complications arise when they both fall in love with luscious fellow band member Marilyn Monroe. The film is pretty much a picture-perfect exercise in how to make a great comedy. Lemmon received the lion's share of kudos at the time, but Curtis is every bit as good. His famed Cary Grant imitation, as a method of seducing Monroe, is arguably the highlight of the film. This is not the special edition, and includes only the original trailer.
• The Apartment (1960)- Billy Wilder's Oscar winner for Best Picture retains all of its power and moving narrative. Lemmon is a hot young Wall Street executive who willingly lends his bachelor pad to his bosses for their illicit trysts with mistresses in order to curry favor and pave his way up the corporate ladder. When he falls in love with elevator operator Shirley MacLaine, who happens to be the mistress of his boss Fred MacMurray, he finds his emotional well-being, as well as his career path, compromised. The film is a masterful blend of humor and pathos with Lemmon and MacLaine both superb. This time around, however, revel in MacMurray's masterful performance as the sleazy boss. It's a pity this magnificent actor became primarily linked to sitcoms and Disney films.This is the standard edition with only a trailer included as an extra.